Reel World

Comic sans

The Albuquerque Comic Convention returns this weekend, Jan. 9 through 11, to the Albuquerque Convention Center (401 Second Street NW). It should give you your midwinter fill of costumed heroes from Marvel, DC and the rest. There will be the usual collection of vendors, panel discussions, parties, costume contests and guest artists. As always, there will be a contingent of movie and TV stars tagging along, signing autographs and taking photos with fans. The guest of honor at this year’s shindig is Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner (who will only be on hand on Sunday). Among the other actors scheduled to make appearances are Manu Bennett (The Hobbit, “Spartacus”), Sean Patrick Flanery (The Boondock Saints), Claudia Christian (“Babylon 5”), Verne Troyer (Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone), Rachel Skarsten (“Lost Girl”), Jeff Parazzo (“Power Rangers: DinoThunder”) and Michael Biehn (The Terminator, Aliens). Because we’re fans ourselves, Alibi Midnight Movie Madness is getting in on the fun as well, screening the 1984 classic The Terminator on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 9 and 10, at Guild Cinema (3405 Central NE). Feel free to show up in costume. There will be door prizes. To get passes to the Albuquerque Comic Con (starting at a $10 one-day pass for Friday and rocketing up to $200 for the VIP Premium package), get over to albuquerquecomiccon.com.

Fest of us

One Little Pill, playing at Albuquerque Film Festival

The Albuquerque Film Festival was founded in 2009, went away for a little while, but is evidently back for more. This year the Albuquerque Film Festival will be running in conjunction with the Albuquerque Comic Con. Some 50 films will be shown over the course of the event, including shorts, documentaries and features. The event will take place at the Guild Cinema (3405 Central NE) on Thursday, Jan. 8. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Jan. 9, 10 and 11), it moves to the Albuquerque Convention Center (401 Second Street NW) while the ACC is up and running. On Sunday it will also be splitting its time with the Guild (which will host several more films and an awards ceremony).

There are several musical documentaries on display, including Well Now You’re Here, There’s No Way Back (in which drummer Frankie Banali tries to reform his old metal band Quiet Riot), The Dicks From Texas (about a self-described “commie faggot hardcore punk band from Texas”), Billy Mize and the Baskersfield Sound (concerning the musicians that emerged, quite unexpectedly, from Bakersfield, Calif., in the ’50s and ’60s) and Rye Coalition (chronicling the cult band from New Jersey). There’s a documentary about alcoholism (One Little Pill), a comedy about two romantic lunatics (Eddie Griffin and Josh Meyers) who escape from an asylum to make a movie about their romantic quest to find and rescue a princess (Last Supper) and a whole bunch of shorts programs. Among the local films getting a turn is Jane Rosemont’s New Mexico-made short “Pie Lady of Pie Town.” Not a lot of the films are very comic book-oriented (well, there is one cheesy space-aliens-versus-campers thriller called Alien Hunger, starring original “Battlestar Galactica” alum Richard Hatch). But there’s a wide selection to choose from over the course of the weekend. Screenings at the Convention Center are included free with all-access and one-day passes to Albuquerque Comic Con. Screenings at Guild are ticketed individually at $10 per screening. For a complete schedule of films and times, go to abqfilmfestival.com.

High on Low

Local filmmaker Alejandro Montoya Marin (who shot “The Joneses” for this year’s 48 Hour Film Fest) will premiere his new short film “Low/Fi” this Saturday, Jan. 10, at the National Hispanic Cultural Center (1701 Fourth Street SW). The 14-minute film follows Lea, a 32-year-old whose younger sister is getting married after only two months of dating. Lea, whose life has been driven by pop music and romantic movies, has a few false expectations in life and doesn’t quite approve of her sister’s sudden marriage. Albuquerque actors Kristen Rakes, Matt Page, Rebekah Wiggins, Jodi Lynn Thomas, Jocelyn Montoya and Alex Knight star in the film. The screening starts at 8:15pm. Cast and crew will be in attendance. A mere $1 gets you in the door. For more info go to facebook.com/lowfishortfilm.